1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle having a body, which includes a window regulator, and more particularly to a body structure for holding the window regulator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A pickup truck, as an example of automobiles, has a cabin and a loading platform located behind the cabin. The cabin has a rear window. The rear window is formed of a window frame and a windowpane of glass, and supported by an outer panel which defines the cabin.
In the case where the windowpane of the rear window can be moved up and down, the window frame has a slit-shaped opening, through which the windowpane is moved in and out of the body. A window regulator which moves up and down the windowpane is disposed inside the outer panel, and located under the rear window. In this structure, if, for example, rainwater enters the above-mentioned opening of the window frame, it may leak in the cabin along the outer panel.
To avoid entrance of the water, conventionally, the cabin has an inner panel which faces the outer panel from the interior of the cabin. The inner panel is connected to, for example, the left and right rear pillars constituting the cabin, by means of welding or the like. The inner panel and the outer panel form a receptacle. The receptacle is a space isolated from the cabin and holds the window regulator. Since the receptacle is continuous to the opening through which the windowpane is moved in and out of the body, it is impossible to prevent rainwater from entering the receptacle. Therefore, the conventional receptacle has a drainage hole in a lower end portion of the outer panel.
The drainage capacity of the drainage hole is naturally limited. Therefore, for example, in the case of a heavy rainfall, the amount of rainwater flowing in the receptacle may be greater than the amount of rainwater discharged through the drainage hole, and the rainwater may remain in the receptacle. If the rainwater remains in the receptacle, it may leak in the cabin through joint portions connecting the inner panel and the rear pillars.
To prevent the water leakage, a complicated waterproof structure, using a sealing material, is required. If the sealing material is deteriorated or damaged, however, the water leakage into the cabin cannot be prevented.
In view of this, the present invention provides a vehicle, in which water leakage into the cabin from a receptacle containing a window regulator is reliably prevented.